German singer Heino, 87, marked the third anniversary of his wife Hannelore’s death with an unconventional Instagram post, sharing a photo of his private audience with Pope Leo XIV. at the Vatican, t-online.de reported.
The post, published on Sunday, did not feature a picture of his late wife but instead showed Heino during the meeting.
Heino and Hannelore were married for 44 years before her death at the age of 81. In the Instagram caption, Heino wrote, Oh, how proud she would have been of this meeting with Pope Leo XIV.
, expressing his belief that his wife would have been proud of the encounter.
He also mentioned that during the audience in January, he was able to speak about his wife and their shared faith, which brought him to tears.
The unusual tribute stems from the fact that the idea for Heino’s more than 250 church concerts originated from his late wife. Heino wrote that he was grateful for how wonderfully these concerts had been realized and that they would likely continue in the coming year. The post concluded with a personal message to Hannelore: My girl, I love you – take care of us!
The meeting with Pope Leo XIV. was arranged by Heino’s manager, Helmut Werner. Werner had written a personal letter to the Pope in the months prior, detailing Heino’s wish to meet the religious leader. The invitation arrived shortly before Christmas. When I received the invitation the day before Christmas Eve, tears came to my eyes.
, Heino recounted later.
The private audience took place in the Pope’s private library, where he greeted the German guests in his native language. Heino presented the Pope with a Golden Record of his album “Frieden auf Ewigkeit,” engraved with the words Pope Leo XIV, a beacon of hope.
. Werner served as a translator during the conversation, in which Heino spoke about his musical work within the church.
